We are so fortunate to have LUCY SINGER with us to share some information about HistoriCool magazine. Welcome, Lucy! Would you please begin by sharing a little about yourself with us and telling us why and how you started HistoriCool? I have always had an interest in history, perhaps encouraged the most by my grandpa, whose collection of history-related books were only outnumbered by his endless personal stories and memories of the past. What I really craved when I was a child was to be able to read about history in a fun and colorful way. I scoured high and low for a magazine that could fill this hole, but it didn't exist in Australia. Much later, while in a particularly boring history lecture at university, I noted (with the help of Google…on my phone…under the desk) that the product I had so wanted still wasn't available. So I made the decision in 2011 at the age of 19 that I would make it myself. The magazine launched two years later and now, at 23, I've published 15 issues and counting, each one growing HistoriCool's dedicated readership and reaching more schools, families and mini-historians than the last. What do you love most about your editor job? What do you find challenging about it? What do I love most? The variety! Due to still being a relatively new venture with a negligible budget, my job description is about a mile long - I do a bit (or a lot!) of everything at every stage of the publishing process. A typical morning for me might include chatting via email with contributors about their ideas, followed by some marketing and a quick call to our distributor. After lunch I'll edit a newly received article, work on the layout of the next edition, email my incredible cartoonist with some briefs then do lots of administration! Every day is different. The most challenging thing is time management and trying to keep several plates spinning all at the same time. And occasionally one falls - just as I write this I've noticed an email that I should have replied to last week is still sitting unanswered! I've only been working on HistoriCool full-time for a few months after leaving my part-time employment elsewhere. But now that I have lots more time to dedicate to the magazine, I've been finding that there's even more to take up that time than I could ever have imagined! For those who might not be familiar with HistoriCool, tell us a bit about it. What sets HistoriCool apart as a magazine? HistoriCool is really the only magazine of its kind – at least in Australia. There's nothing else on the market that aims to engage 8-14 year olds with history, and does so in a really fun and youthful way. HistoriCool fosters the realization in readers that ordinary people can do extraordinary things, and aids their parents and teachers in developing their children's interest, even love, of the past. Our tagline is 'The coolest mag in history' which I think just about sums it up! HistoriCool is published six times per year, each issue being 64 pages of articles, interviews, puzzles, activities, jokes and quizzes – and even our regular recipe feature: HistoriCook! HistoriCool is published in Australia. Are you receptive to submissions from writers in other parts of the world? Absolutely! We've published articles from writers in the US, Canada, the UK, and Greece! History is everywhere, so I'm delighted to receive submissions from everywhere too! Any tips for writers who might want to break into HistoriCool? Suggestions that will increase their chances of acceptance? Have fun with it! While regular articles are fine, I'm always excited to receive a submission that is written in an interesting format (short historical fiction, letters, diary entries, poems… you name it!) or with lots of humor. A balance between education and entertainment is key. What things turn you off to a submission? Any pet peeves? Targeting an article to the right age group is really important to me and, for the most part, our contributors do this really well. But even though HistoriCool has a target age range spanning 6 years, some writers aim much too low, while others write as if they're submitting a college essay! I know you create all puzzles in-house, since I personally already asked you about those. What about activities and quizzes--are you interested in submissions in those areas? All the activities and quizzes that appear in the magazine are done in-house too. We also produce a Teacher Pack for school subscribers, packed full of activities, worksheets and lesson plans. These are currently written by a fantastic freelance educational consultant who has been on board since Issue 01. So at the moment, we're not in need of anything of this kind, but as the magazine (and its budget!) grows, we will be looking to outsource more of this type of content. Your submission guidelines mention that HistoriCool has a theme for each issue, although the issues also include some non-theme based articles. Are upcoming themes listed anywhere? I communicate our upcoming themes to our contributors via email instead of publishing them on the website - just so the surprise isn't ruined for our readers! Once a new writer makes contact with me and proves with the submission of a non-theme article that they are right for HistoriCool, I add them to my list of contributors to contact about new themes. I also get new writers to fill out a contact sheet where they are encouraged to list some areas of historical interest. If these match up to an upcoming theme, they will be notified first. Thank you so much, Lucy, for taking the time to share with us this helpful information and for being a part of creating such a wonderful magazine for kids. For you writers who are now inspired to submit something to this terrific publication, submission guidelines (including pay scale) are here. Writing for Children's Magazines, July 2015